Wood Group to sell environment unit as core earnings fall

Consulting and engineering company John Wood Group on Thursday reported a fall in core profit and said it was selling its built environment division after a review.

Adjusted core profits of around $550m - $560m, were down 9% on a like-for-like basis, with improved performance in consulting offset by lower profits in its projects and operations units.

The built environment operation, which helps companies assess environmental risk, could fetch £2bn pounds, according to media reports. Wood said a sale was “the best option to deliver value for our shareholders”.

“It will also strengthen the group as we look to capitalise on the significant opportunities ahead of us, including in energy transition and industrial decarbonisation".

Revenue for the year to December 31 fell 9% to around $6.4bn, down 14% on a like-for-like basis, with growth in consulting and operations offset by a “significant decline in projects” as the company moved away from large-scale fixed price work.

Looking ahead, Wood said it expected activity levels to improve in 2022 across its business and had seen momentum in order in-take in the fourth quarter of 2021, including an improvement in projects.

“We expect our order book at 31 December 2021 to be significantly higher than 31 December 2020 with growth in all business units,” it added.